[BF Newsroom]

Eagles would once have soared widely across English skies, but they disappeared at the hands of man: that's a key finding from a new study looking at the historic distribution of Britain and Ireland's two largest birds of prey.

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[Nightranger]

Originally Posted by BF Newsroom

Eagles would once have soared widely across English skies, but they disappeared at the hands of man: that's a key finding from a new study looking at the historic distribution of Britain and Ireland's two largest birds of prey.

Read More...

I do not like to pour scorn on the RSPB unnecessarily but there is very little substance to this. Climatic change accompanied the deforestation of the Bronze Age and this led to deterioration of the upland habitats for most birds of prey. Different species occupied the habitats that were created and in recent times there has been increased persecution in certain areas but I see no reason to invoke a historic factor unless historic means from the 1800s onwards. 'The Hand of Man' in this context could easily relate to the elimination of suitable prey. For sure, birds of prey have been persecuted from Victorian times but there is no evidence that large or small raptors have been specifically targeted from earlier times...venerated yes,...exploited as hunting vassels, yes and I would suspect this story comes from anecdotal evidence.

[Nightranger]

It pains me to say this but this is not well-thought-out. Using place names as evidence is fraught with danger because few people could distinguish between a falcon and an eagle in realistic terms up until the early 19th Century (late 18th Century to be generous but it is important to recognise that the concept of species is not very old...historically). The 'place of eagles' could easily mean the 'place of the peregrine falcon' given the recent changes in distribution and where some of these birds have taken up residence.

[Amarillo]

Don't see why you think its not well thought out. It specifically says it uses "a combination of place-name analysis, historic records and modern knowledge of the species' ecology" to estimate the former range. Obviously its speculation, but informed speculation using the best evidence we have and potential for error will have been factored in.

There may be little hard evidence, but there seems little reason to suspect that eagles didn't range widely over Britain.